Trial By Fire
by obsessedwithstabler
Summary: You can sleep in my arms, you don't have to explain. When your heart's crying out, baby, whisper my name. Cause I've reached out for you when the thunder's crashing above. You've given me your love. That's why I'll be there... AU. Spoilers for Savior


Okay, how incredible was Savior? I absolutely adored it, even though I know where it's leading. Chris is leaving, and they're essentially wrapping everything up, in case SVU goes down the drain when he goes, or if Mariska decides to leave with him. It's very upsetting, but I can see the good in it. My theory is that Olivia is getting her baby, and at the end of the season, she'll take the baby home and Kathy will leave El again. Then through Chris's final season (season 12 *tear*) Elliot and Olivia will slowly realize what everyone else knows, culminating in a season finale shocker to end all, in which El will die (and be shoved into WP, and then Liv will join him later) or he'll decide to retire and stay home with the kids. Oh, and he'll totally adopt Liv's baby, too. LOL. At least, this is my fondest wish. It seems to me that they want to give the characters what they want (for Liv, the baby she's wanted forever) and still leave lots of room for drama (the birth mother returning, and Olivia won't give the baby up). Anyway, enough of my rambling. Let me hear some of yours! Enjoy, and please review!

This first chapter begins where that evil episode left off.

Disclaimer: Not mine!

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**The Prologue.**

"Detective, we need a decision," the doctor repeated insistently.

Olivia finally snapped out of her stupor. "Do it," she whispered, a lump forming in her throat. "Do the surgery."

The doctor shoved a form at Olivia for her to sign, then was gone before the ink was even dry.

Olivia stood there for several minutes as others passed her by, but she didn't notice. Finally she pulled out her phone and dialed a familiar number as she went to find the nearest waiting room.

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"She left you her daughter?"

Olivia was pacing by a window when she heard her partner's voice, and she turned to look at him. He had Eli in his arms, and she couldn't help the smile that touched her tired features. "Technically she left me power of attorney over the baby, but she's not coming back, at least for a while." She extended her arms hopefully.

He willingly placed his young son in his partner's arms. "Kathy had to go to her sister's, and I couldn't find anyone to watch him."

Olivia shrugged as Eli giggled and buried his hand in her hair. "It's fine. I could use a little Eli time." She kissed the youngster's soft hair.

With a concerned look, Elliot placed his hand on Olivia's arm. "How are you doing?" he murmured.

"Worried. There's a bleed in her brain, so they didn't really have a choice except to operate. But the surgery itself might do more harm than good."

He gently rubbed her shoulder. "How long has she been in there?"

"She went in right after I called you."

He led her to a sofa and gently urged her to sit down. "Maureen will be here in a couple of hours to get Eli. I'll get her to bring us something edible for dinner."

"El, you don't have to stay here…"

He shook his head. "No. you're not going through this by yourself, Liv."

Her dark eyes settled on him, filled with fear, pain, and something else that he couldn't quite identify. "Thank you," she finally murmured, realizing that he wouldn't leave her alone to deal with this. "I… appreciate it."

He gave her a little smile. "It's no problem, Liv," he assured her.

She hugged little Eli tight and breathed in his sweet baby scent, allowing herself to be comforted by her best friend's child. His laughter drew her somewhat out of her misery, and after a few minutes she was playing with him, temporarily distracted from the situation.

Elliot sat back on the couch and watched his son interact with his partner. After all that she had been through in her fight to have a child, maybe this would be good for her. Maybe this was God's way of giving her a child, of fulfilling what he thought was her dearest wish.

Suddenly he was filled with an emotion that was too dangerous for him to identify, and he swallowed hard, absently rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

What the hell was he going to do now?

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Fourteen hours later, Elliot was pacing the waiting room floor after a short nap. Olivia was curled up on one of the uncomfortable sofas, and every few minutes he paused to look at her as she slept.

Finally a doctor in bloody scrubs walked in, and instantly Olivia sat up, wiping at her blurry eyes. "Ms. Benson?"

She nodded. "That's me. How is she?"

The doctor sighed. "The surgery stopped the bleeding in her brain, and she's as well as can be expected, considering her condition."

The brunette woman nodded impatiently. "So… will she be okay?"

"It's really up to her now, Ms. Benson. At this point, I'd say that, with the right care, she has about a forty percent chance of living."

Olivia looked at her partner, who nodded and placed a gentle hand on her back.

The doctor looked at her file. "Her mother gave you power of attorney. Is she giving up her parental rights?"

"I… don't know…" Olivia murmured softly.

"Did she name the baby before she gave you proxy?"

"No…" That was something else that she would have to contemplate.

"Okay. Well, give us another hour, and you can come sit with her, if you would like to."

"I would," Olivia responded immediately, making Elliot smile a little.

"Good." She left the waiting room.

As soon as the door closed, Olivia's shoulders slumped. "God, El, what am I going to do?" she wondered, rubbing her hands over her face.

Elliot hesitated, then drew her into a gentle hug.

Olivia was surprised, but she willingly returned the embrace and buried her face in his shoulder.

He brought his hand up to cradle her head gently. "You'll figure it out, Olivia," he murmured, resting his chin on the top of her head. "And you won't be alone. I'll be right here with you, every step of the way." He held her tighter as he caressed her soft, chestnut hair. "I promise."

She inhaled shakily, then finally let her tears fall as they held each other in the empty waiting room.

At the door, Kathy saw the intimate embrace and heard every word he said. Not since she found out that she was pregnant with Maureen had he spoken to her so tenderly, and she couldn't help but wonder sadly if Olivia was now pregnant with his child.

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she backed out of the door, then turned and walked away from the private moment that she felt she had just intruded upon.

TBC...

A/N: I know I still have Blood of The Innocent to work on, but that's already pretty much done. Just a matter of posting. LOL. Thanks for reading, and please review!!


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